Friday, April 23, 2004

But, but, but...I thought we were "tightening the noose" along with our Numero Uno ally in the region? And where's the "spring offensive" to catch Bin Laden that we heard so much about back in January? And remember the jingoistic Bush Admin chest-thumping about bringing in the special ops folks that accepted the handover of Saddam from the Kurds? Weren't we supposedly sending those guys back to Afghanistan to yank OBL out of his cave? I'm confused. Anyway, welcome home, guys!

Maj Gen Martin Dempsey said about 10% of new officers were rebels and a further 40% had left their jobs - but the rest "stood tall and stood firm". Further proof that we're letting the inmates back into operational positions within the asylum. Jeepers, how in the hell can they spin this? After $150 billion dollars spent getting Saddam and his supporters out, now (at least the Baath Party supporters) are being welcomed back to the fold. After proper vetting, of course (wink wink, nudge nudge).

Speaking of vetting those Baath Party refugees, I hope whoever's doing the background checks on them is perhaps a bit more aggressive about checking references than they were with checking out Iraqi police and military recruits.

All in all, just another day in journalistic paradise. You couldn't make this shit up if you wanted to, and that's what makes it all the more bizarre.